Nose up, skids lowered for touchdown, the plane will slide a mile
X-15 approaches
my X-15 work; I've been a Government re
search pilot for 17 years. Grace knows when
I'm to fly the rocket plane, but all she ever
says is, "Call me when you get down."
At the base, the Boeing B-52 already snug
gles the X-15 (page 433). Fueling is under
way-a gingerly business. When Cape Ca
naveral fuels a missile, practically everyone
can take shelter in a blockhouse. But our crew
at Edwards must be out in the open.
I go into an air-conditioned van parked
nearby, and specialists check out the elec
446
trodes plastered on my body and shoe-horn
me into my pressure suit (page 432). Then I
climb into the X-15 for the ground countdown,
which may require half an hour or several
hours, depending on the trouble we encoun
ter. The countdown in the air before launch
lasts about 40 minutes.
As in all experimental programs, we have
delays. Maybe you've heard the first law of
the legendary Murphy: "What can go wrong
will go wrong." But we often come up against
Murphy's lesser known second law, "What
RODACHROME
BY M/SGT. PHIL WIMER. USAF (r ATI-N Al _ncrco>ouir CnriTV